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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: More than half-a-million Americans have gotten an experimental treatment for COVID-19. It s called convalescent plasma. But a year into the pandemic, it is not clear who, if anyone, actually benefits from it. And that highlights the challenges scientists have faced in studying COVID drugs. NPR science correspondent Richard Harris reports.
RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: On paper, treatment with convalescent plasma makes good sense. The idea is to take blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 and infuse it into people currently infected. The antibodies in that plasma, in theory, would help fight the virus. So based on that idea, Dr. Nicole Bouvier at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York decided to give it a try last March.
Audio: Convalescent Plasma Strikes Out As COVID-19 Treatment scpr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scpr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Melissa Cruz elevated her arm after donating COVID-19 convalescent plasma in April 2020, as phlebotomist Jenee Wilson shut down the collection equipment at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle.
More than half a million Americans have received an experimental treatment for COVID-19 called convalescent plasma. But a year into the pandemic, it s not clear who, if anyone, benefits from it.
That uncertainty highlights the challenges scientists have faced in their attempts to evaluate COVID-19 drugs.
On paper, treatment with convalescent plasma makes good sense. The idea is to take blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 and infuse it into patients with active infections. The antibodies in the donated plasma, in theory, would help fight the virus.
Long-term COVID-19 symptoms are even more common than we thought msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.